Eleison

What are the other shows you're thinking of?

I see, but you really never have to worry about them having a shot. It's a Kdrama, so of course, they never will. 😂

Ooh, like Benedick and Beatrice from Much Ado About Nothing? 😏

"You should know the drill" 😅

This is an excellent post. Well-explained!

Interesting, cause in my opinion, neither is a weasel. They are persistent and an obvious rival to the ML, but are also good men (though flawed) and are a part of the main leads' arcs and positively affect their growth. In this drama, the 2ML inadvertently inspires/pushes the ML to get up the courage to pursue the FL and in this process of getting up the courage the ML realizes it's okay to love her and he doesn't have to deny himself good things simply because he made mistakes in the past.

Did you ever finish I Can Hear Your Voice? The 2ML plays a really cool role in the last 3rd of the drama. In addition to helping the FL become less jaded, he realizes he was too gullible about people's intentions (since he was a defense attorney) and always too willing to believe them with the hopes they were goodhearted deep down. The ML also asks him for help at the end in a way that ends up being really neat, and he also has some really beautiful reflections about the ML and how he turned out different than the villain of the story due to the FL's presence in his life. It was sweet!

Anyway, it seems you know what you're willing to put up with as far as love triangles go. As far as my preferences, my tolerance for the 2ML's involvement in the FL's life is maybe just a bit higher than yours, as long as I can see that they play an actual role in the story and the characters's arcs and aren't just there to create angst, haha. But where you're coming from is understandable! Love triangles are largely frustrating and annoying. ☺️

When did you drop it (what episode?)

I can understand why he bothered you, but to me, he felt purposeful, which made me dislike him less. He was actually a big part of the ML's arc and growth. Yeah, I wasn't a huge fan of him, but he made sense in the story so at least he didn't feel superfluous. I actually like that by the end he came to respect and admire the ML so much that he bowed out willingly and cheerfully. (He reminded me a bit of the SML from I Can Hear Your Voice.) He also wasn't a bad guy, so I didn't have any reason to dislike him other than the fact that he was a bit overprotective of the FL at times.

It is quite fluffy and the humor leans heavy into the cringe end of things (Strong Woman Do Bong Soon level). But it is just SO cute, and Tae Goo is completely and utterly darling.

It's also a rom-com without a serial killer side plot. That's a rare Kdrama these days! 😅

Agree with all this!! Good observations and examples!

I think it's more cohesive as a story, for sure! There are some lovable characters, character arcs and moments in Season 2, though.

Yeah, true! It's a weird fixation and annoying for all of us to read over and over. My one consolation is since I blocked him (@mooc), he can't see my posts. But it's unfortunate that I still see his. *massive sigh*

Has this specific trope become a recent trend? Maybe, but it will shift and change just like each era of Kdramas have. It's not the world-ending issue he's making it out to be. MLs have always been some version of smart, pure, intelligent, rich, athletic, gifted, royal, sefless, or tender, and they fluctuate amongst these features in all the Kdramas. This is just how they're written (just like how martial arts movies have Kung Fu or Tae Kwon Do, etc. they're the genre and nonnegtoiables of the formula). He also said there have been zero FLs recently who are "virgins," and that's just not true. Lovely Runner and My Sweet Mobster are just two immediately off the top of my head who don't fit his claimed sterotype. I could list tons of dramas over the years with "virgin" FLs, too.

I think one of the reasons why dramas tend to have "pure" MLs OR FLs is because it's a little more interesting to watch people fall in love who haven't before (or who haven't very often). Getting to watch the MC make mistakes, overcome them, face challenges while still new to incorporating a person into their lives is more entertaining often than watching someone super experienced at it. It creates the "drama" when they're babies at love, so to speak.

I wish I could convince everyone on MDL to NEVER respond to his posts. I bet he'd go away if that happened. It's boring when no one gives what you say the time of day. 😏 (In a similar vein (but a bit random 😅), I think if media stopped covering active shooters and never showed a picture of them or released their names, active shooters would become less of an issue in the U.S.; unfortunately, media cares too much about money, and they continue to feed the twisted attention-seeking). I think trolls/contrarians are the active shooters of thoughtful internet discourse. 😂

Haha, will do!

And same, usually if I dislike a show a lot of people liked, I can almost always see why people liked it even though I didn't.

But to be fair, in a community it can feel isolating to disagree with the majority. It can also make you feel like it reflects poorly on your taste, as if you can't identify "good stuff," so maybe that's why people get so affronted by the discrepancy? Especially when they can't see why people liked it even though they didn't? 🤷‍♀️

It's just kind of off-putting when they assume the majority of people rating a drama are dumb, fangirls or obsessed with certain actors (if they disagree) rather than considering they might have different taste or preferences. "It must be terrible if I don't love it," seems like kind of a narcissistic conclusion, no?

💯

Okay, yeah, I don't see that info on the app. Whoops! My bad.

I've found more underrated dramas have much pleasanter threads. "My Double " for instance; love the vibe on that thread!

There is one person in particular (but sometimes there are more than just him), who likes to point out that MOST Kdrama MLs are virgins (and that this is stupid and unrealistic to most real men who exist in real life and that makes shows like this garbage (he doesn't use the word garbage, haha)), and the FLs are not always virgins or have a dating history and so it creates this double standard, and whenever a Kdrama comes out that seems to be another instance of this trend (which is also largely just, um, a Kdrama), he posts about it frequently. This person has failed to realize that MLs inexperienced in love is true of MOST Kdramas, and especially rom-coms (FLs are also often inexperienced in love), but still feels it's necessary to point out the ML's supposed virginity and take issue with it. Not sure what he thinks he's accomplishing, but maybe he just wants to annoy people, and if that's his goal, he's succeeding. 😑

Where are you seeing 38,000 ratings? Maybe the app's infrastructure doesn't allow me to see it (some things that show up on a browser don't show up on the app). I was under the impression that to be deemed a "watcher" you have to rate it, but I guess you could just designate your status as "currently watching" without rating it. So, I think I got that wrong. 😂

Regardless, I think we can agree a lot of people rated it, and the second point I made still stands. 😉

Yes, while old Kdramas have a definite cozy quality to them, there are some things I appreciate about newer dramas, like less toxic relationships and jerk MLs.

I usually prefer the ones Netflix gets the rights to and then airs on its platform, not as much the original dramas Netflix produces on its own.

And yes, I've noticed that! Cdramas do seem to be sticking the landings more than Kdramas these days. Not sure why! I mean, censorship is still strong with Cdramas, and maybe it's getting weaker with Kdramas as creators and consumers start taking on more Western entertainment tastes. I know people complain about the pitfalls of censorship and think it's awful and draconian, but I actually think it forces people to be more creative when they can't show whatever they want on screen. When they have to work within parameters, it often forces them to create more compelling content because they have to be so intentional and without resorting to cheap shock tactics or lewd comedic spectacle. I could be wrong, but that's one of my theories. :)

Have you seen Downton Abbey? Literally the reason that show (the 1st Season is the best) is compelling is because the two main leads don't sleep together until the end of Season 1 (when they get married). After that, it gets less interesting. All the interest came from the sexual tension and build-up that came from the characters' values of choosing not to have sex right after they "fell in love." Again, the characters having to work within boundaries made for an interesting story.

I think they mean it is a kind of "soft porn" (I assume) not due to the skinship element but because the idea of a virgin ML can indulge a woman's "fantasy" about what a man in a relationship is like and reinforces a "myth" (the "myth" that "you can find men to date and marry who are still virgins") in the same way that porn gives men a fantasy of what women can give them in sex. I get why someone might venture the comparison, but it's still just not on the same level (for a variety of reasons) and does not need to be repeated AD NAUSEUM.

And it's remains the average of even more voters than you mentioned--it's almost 70,000 now!

But they also claim they are the same people making thousands of fake accounts giving it 10s. 🫢 Guys, I don't think even the biggest fangirls are THAT invested. How do you even keep track of thousands of passwords?